Time Travel

3

The room is filled with the sounds of music and muffled footsteps, but the boys are not laughing or playing around. They're hard at work, drenched in sweat, their faces tired and worn.

"Hyung, you're back!" Jungkook pants. He's looking so overworked. Dark circles contrast against his pale white skin, sweating hard. Hobi smiles as he puts down the food packets, "How's practice going?"

Jimin fixes his hair, "Better, hyung. But Tae keeps messing up the last part!"

Taehyung groans, "I'm not, hyung! Jimin, please don't do this okay? I'm as tired as you and I'm trying my best." he says.

"Can we take a break?" Jungkook asks, panting slightly as he wipes the sweat from his brow.

"Just a few more minutes!" Yoongi responds, his voice low and exhausted. "We can't mess this up!"

Kiyo's heart aches at the sight of them. They're all so young-- Hoseok, Jin, Jimin, Namjoon, Yoongi, Taehyung, and Jungkook-- but the weight of stress feels so piercing. They're anxious and overworked, pushing themselves harder than she ever imagined.

"Okay, enough for today. Come and eat something." Hoseok, their obvious dance leader, says. Kiyo can feel Namjoon's and Jin's confused looks at you, and Hoseok goes, "Ah, I forgot- Guys, this is Kiyo!" he announces cheerfully, but it feels out of place in the room filled with exhaustion.

The boys look up, their expressions shifting from focus to curiosity. "Hey," Jin says, managing a tired smile. "Are you okay? You seem a bit pale."

Kiyo forces a smile back, but her heart is heavy. "I'm fine, just... wow, I didn't expect this," she admits, her eyes darting from one boy to another. "You all look... really busy."

"Yeah, we've been practicing for a while," Jimin replies, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

Kiyo nods, but it doesn't sit well with her. "Do you ever take breaks?" she asks, her concern spilling out.

"We try to," Namjoon interjects, stretching his arms. "But there's a lot to do before our debut. We can't let up now."

Kiyo bites her lip, watching them with a mixture of admiration and sadness. "I can help, you know," she says impulsively. "If you need a break, I'd be happy to-"

"Thanks, but we can handle it," Yoongi interrupts, his voice firm. "It's just part of us."

She wants to argue, to tell them they deserve rest, but the fire in their eyes tells her they won't listen. They're committed, and there's something beautiful about their determination, but it hurts to see them like this.

Hoseok frowns, "Hyung, you can always be nice to her. She's a relative of a staff. She wanted to meet us."

Yoongi sighs, "I'm sorry. I'm just tired. I don't want to lash out." he says. You nod, and honestly, you understand. 5 hours at work make you a demon, and they practice 15 hours non-stop.

Kiyo watches as they begin to devour the rice cakes. Jungkook practically stuffs them in his mouth, and obviously, ends up choking. She quickly passes him some water, "Jungkook, please eat slowly or you might get an upset stomach." she says and rubs his back. He gulps down the whole thing and shakes his head, "We don't really have much time, and I have to practice the dance break with Jimin hyung. The last step is the show stealer." He says. Kiyo's heart clenches at his state-- so tired, yet so passionate. Kiyo remembers watching video clips of Jungkook fainting backstage, low on oxygen, almost passing out on stage during the performance of Fire in Chile. She can clearly see why it happened, even though they're not even aware that they will make a song called Fire.

"Don't worry about us, really. You should worry about yourself. You've been sweating non-stop." The leader, Namjoon says. Kiyo chuckles half heartedly, knowing well its the impact of time travelling, "Um, no, I'm honestly fine. Just a little sick. You guys carry on. I'll leave." She says and begins to stand up.

"No stay! Why don't you hang out for a while? We're almost done practicing. We might show you around a bit." The eldest, Jin, says while fanning Jungkook who has laid down on the floor to get rid of some heat. Kiyo purses her lips, "No, you guys seem to be busy, I don't want you all to miss out on practice." she says. Jin looks around and sees Hobi is walking to the speakers, then whispers, "Come on Kiyo! It's the only way we can take a break from dancing. We've been practicing for hours. Jungkookie really needs some rest, but he won't budge even if Hobi asks him to. Maybe the idea of walking outside with someone might get him out of this studio?" He asks.

Kiyo giggles at this. Jin, who has always been the fake maknae. Even though he's the oldest, his level of mischief rivals with the youngest's. She laughs and gives in, "Alright, fine, if you say so."

Jin flashes his goofy smile as the music plays again, and Kiyo recognizes it. It's No More Dream, their debut song. She definitely remembers the scary last step where Jimin raises Jungkook and he walks horizontally on every members' back while the music showcases gunshot sounds.